As far as a nutrition carbohydrates food list goes, all carbohydrates are not equal.
Some carbohydrates support a strong, healthy, slender, energetic body (we'll call these "good carbs"), while other carbohydrates actually increase your overall risk of heart disease, diabetes and other degenerative diseases (these are "bad carbs").
Your own daily nutrition carbohydrates food list should include 45% to 65% good carbs and 0% bad carbs. But how can you know the good carb bad carb difference?
Good Carb Bad Carb Nutrition Carbohydrates Food List
Carbohydrates are one of the most misunderstood food groups.
Don't be misled by marketing that claims all carbohydrates are bad. Good carbs are an essential part of a healthy diet, providing your body with vitamins, minerals and the energy fuel you need for physical activity, proper organ function and optimum health.
The very best sources of carbohydrates are:
- raw or lightly steamed vegetables,
- most whole, raw, fresh fruit.
- beans, legumes, nuts and seeds
- and high fiber 100% whole grains.
Bad carbs are mainly found in:
- pastries,
- sugary sodas,
- white bread, white rice,
- and other low fiber processed foods.
Whole grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, and other naturally intact healthy carbohydrates do just the opposite. A diet of good carbs has been proven to promote excellent health.
Simple and Complex Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates were once grouped into two main categories – simple and complex.
Simple carbohydrates are made up of single sugars such as table sugar (sucrose), corn or grape sugar (dextrose or glucose) and fruit sugar (fructose).
But complex carbohydrates include a multiple arrangement of three or more sugars linked together. Complex carbs were thought to be the good guys, while simple carbs were considered bad. But it turns out to be more complicated than that.
Your digestive system tries to treat all carbohydrates as equals. It breaks them down into single sugars small enough to pass into your bloodstream and converts most digestible carbohydrates into glucose (blood sugar) for your cells to use as energy.
What makes the difference in good and bad carbohydrates is fiber. And the amount of fiber in a carbohydrate food determines whether it's high glycemic or low glycemic.
The Extraordinary Benefits of High Fiber Carbs
Fiber can't be broken down into sugar molecules. It slows carbohydrate digestion to help keep blood sugar levels healthy and also lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol, carries waste and toxins out of your body and helps in preventing and relieving constipation naturally.
What's most important about carbohydrates is not whether they're simple or complex, but whether they're high fiber or low fiber and high or low on the glycemic index. It's essential to good health to choose nutritious good carbs over bad carbs.
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Note: The information contained on this website is not intended to be prescriptive. Any attempt to diagnose or treat an illness should come under the direction of a physician who is familiar with nutritional therapy.
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